Shooting at a blank bale cures target panic
2 studies · 7 archers measured
The summary today
There is a single study on this question, and it goes against the claim. Seven British archers who had or had had target panic, interviewed one by one, say that in front of a bale with no face on it the symptoms really do go away; for several of them, though, the symptoms came back as soon as a target face went up again, and the same happened to one archer who had tried shooting with her eyes closed. Another archer adds that the blank bale helps her work on technique, but precisely because she cannot miss there, going into a competition after shooting only at a blank bale makes her more fearful. These are accounts from a few archers, with no counts, no protocol and no comparison group: we do not know how long they shot at a blank bale or whether they followed a gradual return to the face, which is how the remedy is usually prescribed. What can be said today is that the relief at the blank bale exists, but in the few cases described it did not carry over to the target.
Also phrased as: "blank bale shooting"; "blank boss"; "shooting without a target face"; "close-range blank bale work"; "target panic cure"; "shooting with eyes closed for target panic"
In practice
Archers with target panic are told to take the face off and shoot at a blank bale from close range for weeks, until the shot starts going off on its own again, and then to bring the face back one step at a time.
Evidence
-
2005
Context Review Published later
A chapter on archery in a sport psychology handbook: it takes from a coach's writings the remedy for target panic, hundreds of shots over several weeks in front of a bale with no face, then a "bridge" of further weeks and further hundreds of shots from large targets at short distances up to competition faces and distances, going back a step if the symptom returns and not scoring during this phase. It is a prescription, not a study: no archer measured, no outcome reported.
Psychological Aspects of Archery · Kathleen M. Haywood
-
2019
Against Archers Published later
7 British archers with current or past target panic (3 men and 4 women, with 3 to 18 years in the sport, from club to national level), interviewed individually (33 to 65 minutes) and studied with interpretative phenomenological analysis: blank bale shooting, often used in coaching, makes the symptoms go away as long as the bale stays blank, but several participants judge it ineffective because the target panic comes back as soon as a face goes up again; one archer finds the same when shooting with her eyes closed. The authors write "several participants" with no count; on the blank bale they quote only one archer at length, and two others on similar practices (eyes closed, arrows drawn without shooting). The time spent at the blank bale is not reported.
Archers’ experiences of target panic: an interpretative phenomenological analysis · Erin E. Prior, Janine K. Coates
-
2019
Context Archers Published later
In the same group one archer says the blank bale is useful for working on technique, but it is a safety net, because you cannot miss there: if she shoots only at a blank bale and then goes to a competition, she is more fearful, and prefers to train at a face so as to confront it. Another, who shoots with a release aid, draws up five arrows without touching the trigger and feels her anxiety rise on the sixth, the one she has to shoot. The authors conclude that avoiding the frightening part may give a misplaced sense of security and raise anxiety in competition: it is a qualitative reading, with no measurements.
Archers’ experiences of target panic: an interpretative phenomenological analysis · Erin E. Prior, Janine K. Coates
Status history
- 2005 Not studied The first time the registry's bibliography touches on the blank bale is a sport psychology chapter on archery, which takes a precise programme from a coach's writings: weeks of shots in front of a bale with no face, then further weeks working back by stages from large, close targets to competition faces and distances, with a step back every time the symptom returns. Even here the blank bale is not enough on its own, because it is the first step of a gradual return. But this is a prescription, with no archer followed and no outcome reported: not studied.
- 2019 Contradicted The first data gathered from archers arrive, and they go against the claim. Seven British archers who have or have had target panic, interviewed one by one, say that in front of a bale with no face the symptoms go away, but for several of them they come back as soon as the face goes up again, and the same holds for one archer who shot with her eyes closed; another finds it useful for technique but says that if she shoots only at a blank bale in training, competition frightens her more. It is a single qualitative study, on few archers and with no counts or protocol, so it does not allow us to say the blank bale does not work: it says that the little there is goes against the claim. Contraddetto.
Related
Related articles
- Why target panic happens (and why calling it mental is not enough)My hypothesis on target panic: under pressure the release de-automatizes, dropping back to conscious control too slow to run it. With what the studies say.
- Target panic in archery: what it is and how to manage itTarget panic in archery: what it is, its three forms, how common it is and which remedies help, with the weight each one carries in the studies.
- Repeatability and consistency: measuring the steadiness of your shotHow repeatable an archer's shot is: what studies say about level, good and bad days, arrows outside the 10, and how to measure consistency on the range.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). Shooting at a blank bale cures target panic (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/blank-bale-target-panic
@misc{campagna2026_paglionebiancotargetpanic,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {Shooting at a blank bale cures target panic},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/blank-bale-target-panic},
note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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